Spirits
Common Knowledge Spirits are beings forged by the Elements. Spirits tend to embody personality traits that are associated with their element. Ifrits are volatile, belligerent, destructive, fierce, unrelenting, proud, and tend to have an affinity for fire. They typically feel no kinship to the other types of spirits. Naiads are resourceful, clever, elusive, tricky, ever-changing, and have a strong connection to water and life. Venti are playful, tricky, chaotic, whimsical, swift, and love the sky. Nymphs are the friendliest of the spirits, and feel the most kinship with the other types. They are firm, friendly, and often find themselves the guardians of forests. Greater Spirits are immortal beings who were born from a Greater Spirit or from the elements themselves. They are dangerous and often don't like being disturbed, ESPECIALLY Greater Ifrits! Lesser Spirits are less powerful and often pop up out of the blue. There is little known about their origins besides the fact that they can be made by a Greater Spirit and another mortal race having a kid, that kid becomes a Lesser Spirit. Residence Greater Spirits can be found in an Elemental Plane or inhabiting some elemental formation on the Material Plane. Lesser Spirits are widespread throughout Orelisle, despite their rarity. There are no known countries or cities composed primarily of spirits; they often live apart from each other beyond the odd family or village. They are often found in places similar to their element if they are not born to non-spirit parents. Spirits born to non-spirit parents can be raised in the culture and location if the parents. Biology Greater Spirits often look like a humanoid figure with some aspects of their being made of their element, like a Greater Ifrit with fire for hair or a Greater Venti with wings made of wind. They are immortal in that they cannot die but they can be killed. They have Horns and strong representations of their patron element. All Lesser Spirits have horns and characteristics related to their element, though not as strongly as Greater Spirits. The more powerful the Lesser Spirit the more their element will be manifested on their form. Lesser Spirits are similar to Lesser Demons in terms of their birth. Most cases have that somewhere deep in their bloodline, a Greater Spirit bred with their family and at their, the Lesser Spirit's, birth the traits of their Spiritual Heritage sprung forth and dominated over their biological traits. Lesser Spirits are usually born in this manner. Very, very few are directly related to a Greater Spirit and none are "created" as to be a Lesser requires the intermingling of mortal blood. Lesser Spirits tend to look similar to one another of their own denomination and those look as though less severe versions of their Greater Spirit ancestors. For example, Naiads (water spirits) might have fins, gills, and skin about the same color as the water where they reside. Nymphs (earth spirits) embody characteristics of plants, and may have root-like appendages, brown horns, bark-colored skin, and flowers. Unlike dryads, they are typically not reminiscent of one specific plant, but rather the forest altogether. Ifrits (fire spirits) are fiery, both in hair color and skin tone, glow slightly and have hard skin. Venti (wind spirits) have wings and tend toward paler skin. They often live for 1000 years, barring their demise via illness or injury, and mature to adulthood at 80 years of age. Sub-Races of Spirits Fire Spirits (Ifrit) Water Spirit Earth Spirit Air Spirits (Venti) Religion/Culture There does not tend to be an overarching culture of Greater Spirits by any means. Though most have similar traits, such as Ifrits being hot-blooding and Nymphs being very protective of forests. Venti are fleeting and free willed while Naiads are vindictive but ever-changing. Most Spirits tend to live separately from other Spirits. They view themselves as servants of nature and do its bidding and protect it as they see fit. Most Greater Spirits spend their time tending to their elements on Orelisle and doing what they can to expand it or keep balance. Greater Spirits often, but certainly not always, practice a worship of their patron element and the first Spirit of their element. This is a very natural or nature-based practice. Because Lesser Spirits are so widespread, there is no overarching spirit culture. However, most, if not all Lesser Spirits feel very strong ties to their patron element and elemental god. They will worship their corresponding god and try to protect their ideals and their homeland (if relevant; nymphs will strive to protect the forest but if a nymph is born to human parents in a city then that will not apply). Lesser Spirits born to Non-Spirit parents may also follow the religion they grew up/were raised around. History/Events Summary Year 10014 Darkfell: During the fall, an alarming amount of Undead (which had previously been a rather rare occurrence) traversed the land. The cause of the Undead rising was unknown. Galkador, the Amrali Republic, and Binturia all had very large battles with the Undead armies, so the areas close to those had more Undead sightings. At the very end of fall, darkness fell suddenly in the middle of the day. That winter, the sky seemed to be mostly blocked out by darkness, and the level of light never reached more than twilight. This led to a very, very harsh winter, the coldest in recent memory. Planar War: During the Spring, through your strong connection to your element, you may have felt as though the Elemental Plane (think Elemental magic itself) were...more in danger, somehow, as though a fight were coming. For one day near the end of spring, you may have seen something otherworldly, such as a Dragon or a Reaper. This is more likely the closer one is to Binturia (the Apotheosis Desert borders Binturia, for example). After these occurrences suddenly ended with the death of Cinead (which some spirits, especially ifrits, may have felt), Elemental magic felt more...removed from the universe, but immensely more stable. Year 10015 Constellations: For a month in the beginning of spring, the stars vanished from the sky. In the Overbright, giants appeared and began destroying cities, and a personified constellation throwing very powerful black spheres of destruction at them. The bird-kin leaders met to deal with the problem, and the black eagles pulled out and refused to help. In Jericho, south of the Apotheosis Desert, a war broke out between dark mages and paladins. The Fel Invasion: In the end of spring, you may have encountered a strain of demons you’d never seen before. They look different from normal Demons, being more...purple. They have thick skin and medium sized horns. They seem to have their own branch of magic. You may have heard the words “Fel” or “Warlock” associated with them. The closer you are to K’Vesten, where the Fel demons currently reside, the more likely you are to know that they are still there. Jericho was destroyed by a Kaiju, and the storm around it vanished. Refugees from the attack formed Tent Town north of Jericho. In Coral City, which was underwater, a Kaiju attacked and decimated the city, but the Binturian party came in and defeated it with their combined powers. In the Fera Isles, which house forests and coastline, a tsunami devastated the land and destroyed many homes. A green rip in the sky also appeared for three days, marking the beginning of the demons’ appearance. During the third day, you may have seen a very large flying object soar over your country (the more likely the more central you are), and hours later the rip in the sky disappears. Year 10016 The Apotheosis Desert was shrinking (only really noticeable to those who regularly encounter its borders). The surrounding grasslands were encroaching upon it, and the climate within had become more temperate. This newfound rain was causing massive mudslides that, although rare, were devastating. It is still shrinking but there is a part of it that is permanently desert, and uninhabitable. (*sigh*... "Binturians...") Angst Plague: Over the course of fall, strange things may have happened. It seemed to be a sickness that spread rapidly and worsened over time. First, the affected would get...testy, more belligerent than usual, and even get upset over minor things. One might even say they were angsty. These symptoms intensified until the affected became rabid, attacking everything in sight blindly. The disease continued progressing throughout the land until one day it rained and the disease vanished. Rabids still roam the land occasionally. Nymphs may have noticed Telor, grandson of Avani and guardian of the Binturian forest, get the plague. Additional Varied Events: In addition, the Venti city of Ebrilas was invaded by Aetorg, but they recovered. In the spring people started having nightmares that steadily got worse. There might have been a castle involved? However, by the start of summer, the nightmares had ended abruptly. In the Apotheosis Desert, there was a week of random sandstorms that came and went abruptly. At the very end of spring, in the forests of Ivoran, some gnomes began blindly attacking everything around them. This passed in a few days. Detailed Origins The spirits of Orelisle are tied powerfully to the elements. The first spirits were Demons that escaped from Hell. According to the old legends, the ascended were four of the most powerful demons of their age, Cinaed, Nanami, Avani and Zeru. For whatever reason, unlike their infernal brethren they did not revel in the harsh and unforgiving land of hell, and they decided together to escape. The four knew that they could reach the mortal plane, but feared that they would be dragged back down by the other demons, who would not take kindly to their departure. It was for that reason that they formed a plan to scatter to the four directions, leaving eachother in hopes that the demons would not be able to pursue them all at once. With this plan, they ascended out of the inferno and made haste as far from their exit point as possible. Firm Avani fled to the North and took refuge in the woods, communing and hiding among the trees and creatures of the forest. Swift Zeru ran to the east, climbing the mighty mountains which lay in his path, moving as swiftly as the birds that called the mountains home. Cinaed, ever prideful, traveled south to the desert, welcoming the heat as only a demon could and making his home in the desert, a bold statement that he did not need to hide from the lesser demons. Clever Nanami made her way westwards, slipping into the ocean in hopes that demons would not think to search for a creature of fire hidden in the water. The ascended knew not how the others fared, and did not have time to worry about their fellow escapees, as they were soon followed to the earthly plane by the many forces of hell. Many demons saw the task of dragging the Ascended back down to hell as a test of strength, and believed that doing so would bring them great power. They came first for Avani, burning the woods and murdering the creatures which called the forest home. Avani saw this and felt remorse, for the forest had become a home to her, and she felt compelled to defend it. Avani went to the center of the forest and meditated, hoping that with all the energies of the forest surrounding her she could find the strength to repel the invading force. Suddenly, she found herself aware of the life of the forest, andrealized that she could feel the life of every creature that surrounded her, from the ancient trees to the short-lived chipmunks, and she immersed with the great force that she could now sense, taking the power of the forest’s essence and in effect becoming it. The demon’s horns turned as brown as the trees from which she drew her energies, and her tail vanished. Firm Avani, no longer a demon but rather a nymph, went to face her pursuers, and in her rage drew vines from the earth to crush her enemies and commanded the animals of the woods to fight by her side, and so she drove out the demons from her forest. The demons, their rage increased, left the north and traveled instead to the east, clawing their way up the mountain and fouling the sky up with the smoke from their fires. Zeru saw this, and traveled to the highest point of the highest mountain. There he stayed, his only weapon a bow and a dwindling number of arrows. From on high, he observed the foul smokes and the stocky creatures trying to force their way into the sky’s domain, and felt the winds around him, and as he loosed his last arrow he suddenly and impulsively leaped into the sky, letting the wind take him, and the wind did take him, and reformed him into a winged creature of the sky, a venti. Swift Zeru felt power, as if the sky itself had granted him dominion over the winds to do with as he pleased. Now more confident than ever, Zeru went to face the demons. The demons saw their changed adversary and fired many arrows, but the spirit dodged them, swift as the wind, and gathered raging gales that tore the demons from the mountain and sent them back to earth. The demons had to give up, for Zeru’s new powers made climbing the mountains an impossibility. At this point, hundreds of demons had died, but the fury of hell was a mighty force indeed, and so yet more demons went south, to where the prideful Cinaed was waiting for them. He offered to take on all the demons at once, claiming that his rage could match the might of any. He stood in the hottest part of the desert, where the sun itself could play audience to his fighting. The demons came, and Cinaed fought for days, matching the might of any who came to challenge him. This continued for over a week before Cinaed found his strength failing him. Enraged, he screamed upwards, throwing his rage to the sun itself and basking in the rage of battle. He found himself filled with a fire unlike any which had existed before. The spirit Cinaed was refreshed, and now took on even more demons at once, calling forth flames to engulf his enemies when his strength failed him, and eventually the demons had to retreat once more, lest all who had come to the surface be lost entirely. Cinaed raged at them as they fled, calling them cowards and boasting of his own strength, the strength of an Ifrit. The rage of the demons was quickly turning to desparation, for all who had fled had thus far eluded them. They turned their attention westwards to the sea, where Nanami had taken refuge. Using their wits rather than strength, the demons poured poison into the sea, hoping to flush Nanami out before the sea could grant her power. Nanami saw this and realized that she could neither best the demons nor survive their poison, and so she dove to the deepest part of the sea, planning on denying the demons the trophy of her corpse to bring back to Hades. Unable to speak or breathe, the demon instead focused on the power of the tides which she had called home for some time, felt the strength of the ocean surrounding her, and, at peace, took a deep breath. It was much to her surprise that the naiad Nanami found herself able to breathe underwater as she had gained fins and gills. Nanami felt the power of the tides coursing through her. Pleased with her new gift, she ascended from the depths of the ocean and sent forth great waves, casting out the poison which had filled the ocean and dashing the demons against the shores. After this final loss, the remaining fighting Demons fled back to Underworld. The four became Spirits, the first and most powerful of their kind. It is said that these four still exist, powerful as ever, and that all spirits are descended from these four. Further/Related Information Degree of Separation There are many degrees of separation between the Four Elements and mortal beings. While one can have attunement and channel the forces that are the Elements, they are not beings bore of the Elements. Spirits themselves are closer to the elements than other beings but are not truly "forces of nature" as some believe. Spirits, instead, are "mortal" beings forged into an element of sorts. Category:Playable Races